Mark Bittman and Florence Fabricant on Cookbooks, Food Blogs, Apps and Foodies

In October 2012, a panel hosted by NYU debated why books and benchmarks matter to introduce the release of 101 Classic Cookbooks, 501 Classic Recipes. I had the opportunity to discuss the future of cookbooks, food blogs and apps, and the term "foodie" with Mark Bittman, bestselling cookbook author and New York Times Op-ed and The Magazine's food columnist, and Florence Fabricant, New York Times food and wine columnist, contributor to 101 Classic Cookbooks, and the mother of the woman who designed the cookbook.

Read the editted interview on the Huffington Post. 

Magnus Nilsson On Fäviken

Fäviken, the "world's most daring restaurant," is a 12-seat barn on a 24,000-acre hunting estate 375 miles north of Stockholm, in northwestern Sweden. As a teen, the chef, Magnus Nilsson -- who has been described as "part Viking lumberjack and part Shaman" -- created a 20 year business plan that ended with him running the world's best restaurant. But after working at Michelin three-starred Parisian restaurants L'Arpège and L'Astrance, Nilsson stopped cooking and trained to be a sommelier. Working at Fäviken brought him back to the kitchen, and now, the restaurant is ranked thirty-fourth in the world.

This past month, the twenty-eight-year old chef published Fäviken (£35 / €45/ $49.99, Phaidon 2012, www.phaidon.com). But unlike most cookbooks, Fäviken is not a recipe book. The quantities are given as guidelines rather than exact instructions, techniques very rarely include cooking times or temperatures, and the average home cook is unlikely to prepare any of the recipes. Instead, Nilsson hopes the featured people, products, and techniques inspire readers to make something of their own.

Read the interview on the Huffington Post.

The New Spice Trade Ends at Junoon

Centuries ago, trade routes carried exotic spices from India around the world; today some of those paths lead to the Flatiron, just west of Madison Square Park. Housed behind an imposing hand-chiseled black limestone facade perfect for a Mughal fort or maharajah palace lies Junoon, an opulent Indian restaurant that serves haute subcontinental cuisine.

Read more about Junoon and its chef, Vikas Khanna, in the September/October issue of Edible Manhattan, found online here. 

Need It Now: Ferran Adrià's The Family Meal

Staff meals are the stuff of legends, despite the fact that most professional kitchens use them as an opportunity to get rid of food that’s about to spoil or use odd bits leftover from prep. However, in some kitchens, the “family meals” are a way to unite the team, experiment with future menu items, or give a young cook a chance to shine. On the heels of Staff Meals from Chanterelle (2000) and just before Off the Menu: Staff Meals from America’s Top Restaurants (October 11, 2011) and Restaurant Staff Meals: The Food that Fuels the World’s Best Kitchens (slated for fall 2012), comes an indispensable family meal cookbook from one of the world’s most innovative chefs—The Family Meal: Home Cooking with Ferran Adrià (Phaidon), which has just been published. Even if you’re more comfortable navigating cobblestone streets in platforms than wielding a microplane in the kitchen, this book will show even the most harried and clueless of cooks how to prepare a simple dinner at home—and, as an unexpected bonus, it will also be a meal that will forever impress guests. Read more on Vogue.com and purchase it on Phaidon.

Le Fooding Takes On Manhattan

Photographed by William Klein, Vogue, May 1, 1957This year, Le Fooding (the company behind France’s anti-Michelin food guides and festivals) is bringing its third annual American gastronomic celebration to Manhattan. Over the course of two weekends in September, the group will host events with phenomenal food and potent cocktails, music performances and DJ sets, in unexpected and intimate settings all over the city. Read more about the two events and buy tickets on vogue.com.